Meeting th Briarwoods

Posted on Wed Jan 3rd, 2018 @ 10:40pm by

1,368 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: S1:2: Rubicon
Location: Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 02 - 1400 hours

After meeting with the Captain Alex had spent the better part of the next few hours learning as much as he could about the Briarwood Colony Corporation and the two founders Anthony and Samantha Briarwood. He had learned that the Briarwood’s both came from a long line of entrepreneurs and had made a sizable fortune with their various business interests. Though they had several diverse business holdings this was the families first foray into colonization and it seemed like a bit of an odd choice to him. Why would they finance such a large sum of money to build a colony so far away from their base of operations? And why would they accompany that colony knowing they would be out of contact with their base for the next several years? Alex would have expected them to appoint someone within their company to oversee this operation. Clearly they were risking a lot and must be very invested in the colonies outcome, not only financially but personally as well.

The Captain had sent a courtesy message to both the Briarwood’s and copied Alex, letting them know that he would be serving as the liaison. That introduction paved the way for Alex to reach out to them to request a meeting which they had quickly accepted. Knowing the importance of this meeting and that the Briarwood’s would most certainly be accustomed to a certain degree of accommodations Alex had requested and received permission to hold the meeting in the observation lounge.

Alex made sure to arrive for the meeting early and was sitting at the table going over his last minute preparation when the Briarwood’s entered the room. Anthony was a tall and stocky man with salt and pepper hair. He was dressed in a fine three piece suit and was quite impressive. Alex could see quickly that he was used to being the head man in charge in virtually any setting. His wife, Samantha, was a very petite but attractive woman. She looked quite small next to her towering husband but had a certain look on her face that made it clear she was every bit his equal and not one to be dismissed.

Alex stood and greeted them both. “Mr and Mrs Briarwood, I’m Lt Alexander Shepard. It is a pleasure to meet you both. Can I get you anything to drink before we get started?” They both asked for a cup of coffee, his extra bold and black, hers medium with cream and sugar. Even their drink choice seemed to suit their personalities. Alex ordered all three of them some coffee and then returned to the table. They had taken seats directly across from Alex.

“So as Commander McDonald has already told you I have been appointed to serve as the colony liaison. I have to tell you this is my first time holding a position such as this but I will do my absolute best to hit the ground running so to speak.” Alex started the conversation off.

“Well this is our first time organizing a colony too son, so we’re all going to be learning on the fly.” Anthony responded.

“Yes we will” Alex agreed. “And with that in mind I’d really like to hear from you what you feel I can do to assist you the most.”

Mrs. Briarwood took the lead on the response. “Simply put, Lt, I’d expect you to understand the needs of the colony and be an advocate for making sure that Commander McDonald and the rest of the crew does everything they can to meet those needs. A lot of planning and organization has been put into this endeavor and we are counting on Starfleet to carry out their end of this mission. We have, of course, brought as many supplies with us as we possibly could but there are several things that we will have to manufacture or replicate once we actually find a suitable planet to colonize.”

She clearly was very direct and had no trouble expressing her opinion, something Alex truly appreciated. The last thing he needed right now was a bunch of vague responses that could be misunderstood. It was much better to have an open and honest dialogue.

“I think those are all very reasonable expectations ma’am, which brings up what I think is truly the first main issue, selecting a planet. As I understand it there are supposed to be several planets in the region that would be suitable. What specifically are you looking for when you think of the ideal planet for the colony?” Alex replied.

Like a good tennis match it was Mr. Briarwood that took the lead on this one. “Ideally we’d like to find a suitable planet with no indigenous inhabitants. Though I will admit that there are bigger concerns that may trump that objective. We are going to want to be able to do detailed geological, environmental, ecological, soil and water evaluations on any planet under consideration. I’d rather deal with taking a bit longer to find the right mixture for the long term success of the colony than to just settle on one that may be most expedient. This is one area where we are really counting on your crew. The Acheron simply doesn’t have the resources to conduct those kinds of surveys.”

Alex was taking diligent notes while Anthony was speaking. “I’m sure we can accommodate that. Between sensor readings, on the ground testing, etc., we will be able to compile a very comprehensive analysis. And once the planet is identified, what do you foresee as the immediate needs of the colony?”

“We have supplies for initial housing which can be constructed relatively easily. They are basic units but will certainly meet our needs to start with. We also have food stores and a few replicators. The most immediate need will be power and water supply. We simply did not have the space to bring everything that would be necessary there.” Mrs. Briarwood chimed in.

“Ok, I will alert our team so they can begin working on building or replicating the appropriate materials for those items. Power generators would seem to be the quickest solution and would give you enough power until you can build something more substantial on the ground. Basic plumbing shouldn’t be an issue, provided we are diligent in selecting an initial location for the colony. If we place it near a fresh water source that would be ideal, and even better if there is some underground water that could be tapped into as well.” Alex continued making notes as he spoke making sure not to miss anything. “Ok, so that takes care of the immediate needs I think. Once we have the planet selected and start getting the colony set up we can figure out what our next steps in the process should be. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Very acceptable. We’ll have a much better idea of exactly what we will need once we get those initial steps completed.” Mrs. Briarwood answered.

“Excellent. Is there anything else either of you would like to discuss?” Alex asked. They both indicated there was nothing else that they needed to cover and the meeting drew to a close.

After the Briarwood’s left Alex took time to compose an update for the Captain letting him know about their discussion. Hopefully the Captain would be on board with the need for patience in selecting the best planet for the colony as Alex had a feeling that process would be pretty time consuming and labor intensive. But he had to agree with the Briarwood’s that selecting just the right planet was essential to the colonies long term success.

Once he heard back from the Captain, assuming he signed off on the initial plan, Alex would need to coordinate with several of the senior staff to brainstorm the best way to pick the planet and conduct the survey’s that would need to be completed. But he wasn’t going to jump the gun and start on that until he could find out how the Captain felt about the initial plan.

 

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